Carabello: Cycling champion possesses the mettle of a true hero

Posted: Sunday, August 05, 2001

Lance Armstrong is the greatest athlete competing today.

Joanna

Soto Carabello

more Carabello columns

Yes, that is a bold statement, but the evidence is there to back it up.

For the last three years, Armstrong has won the Tour de France, the world's most difficult athletic event. The 30-year-old Texan has blown away all the elite competitors in his sport and rocketed into the record books. Competing in the 21-day race under some of the most grueling conditions, he has shown more athletic and mental prowess, drive, dedication and competitive spirit than any other athlete around today. Armstrong's performance was so convincing that it even makes his team sponsor, the United States Postal Service, look good -- a feat all its own.

I realize these statements will rankle the fans of Tiger Woods, Allen Iverson, Randy Moss, Barry Bonds and Sergei Fedorov. Indeed, these are premier athletes who are dominating their sports. They have accomplished amazing things, and I do enjoy watching their successes. It's just that they aren't in the same category as Armstrong.

Now, some people may already know Lance Armstrong's story. They've heard about his tragic fall and remarkable recovery. They know this is a man who came roaring back from death's doorstep to reach a height in his sport that only a precious few have ever dreamed about.

This will be old news to some. But, unfortunately, many Americans have little or no knowledge of Armstrong. That's because his sport, cycling, isn't revered or respected in the United States the way basketball, football and baseball are. Americans treat cycling like other Olympic sports -- they show mild interest during a major event and then ignore it at all other times. Having a fellow countryman dominate professional cycling has generated more attention for the sport in the United States, but it's nothing compared to the kind of focus other sports enjoy.

For the life of me, I can't understand why. Lance Armstrong is the kind of sports hero every parent dreams their child will have. He is clean-cut and law-abiding, and he's committed to donating his time and money to charity. If I have a child, I certainly won't mind if he or she wants to grow up to be the next Lance Armstrong.

And, it's not like Armstrong's sport is shuffle board. Professional cycling has strength and strategy, speed and danger. Watching someone race down a mountain on a bicycle at 60 mph or careen around hairpin turns on a damp road makes a round of championship golf look like a stroll through the park.

The Tour de France is 21 days and 2,159 miles of pure exhaustion. The competitors pedal their way up and down mountains and across long stretches of highway for hours at a time only to wake up the next day and do it again. That's like a runner finishing a marathon every day for three weeks or a major league pitcher throwing 21 complete games over a 21-day period. The Tour isn't for the weak at heart, mind or body.

Then there's the team aspect of cycling. Unlike football where the quarterback and receivers are all vying for the spotlight, or basketball where players within a team battle each other for shots, a cycling team is focused on supporting one leader. In the case of the U.S. Postal Team, all of the team's riders were there to help Lance. They fetched him food, helped push the pace for him and tried to protect him from crashes. His glory was their glory.

For the last three years, Armstrong has earned considerable glory. He is the only American to win three straight Tour de France titles. This year's victory was the most impressive because he faced the toughest competition. In the months leading up to the race, all the talk was about the dual between Armstrong and Germany's Jan Ullrich.

For the first half of the Tour, it appeared that Armstrong would have his hands full. Ullrich was in top shape and he was riding better than ever. Then the race moved from the French countryside to the mountains. In a tortuous day of climbing -- three mountains over 129 miles -- Lance appeared to be struggling. The television cameras showed him grimacing. The commentators said he was faltering. They were all wrong.

At the beginning of the final climb up the L'Alpe d'Huez everything changed. After a long stare at Ullrich and the other cyclists behind him, Armstrong seemed to power away from everyone else as if they were standing still. The previous miles of racing seemed to have no effect on him as he raced like someone with fresh legs and a full tank. It was one of the most amazing athletic performances I have ever seen.

For most cyclists, the Alpine climb would have drained them completely. Even Armstrong worried that he might not be 100 percent for the next day's high-paced, mountain time trial. Apparently, he can even fool himself because he once again blew everyone else away.

When the Tour de France concluded on July 29, Armstrong led all the other racers by almost seven minutes. You could compare that to Tiger Woods' remarkable 1997 Master's victory, if Tiger's 12-stoke lead was the result of 21 days of golf instead of just four.

If you still need a reason to respect Lance Armstrong and get excited about his accomplishments, then consider that about four years ago he was undergoing intense chemotherapy treatments for testicular cancer, which had also spread to his lungs and brain. Doctors didn't think Armstrong would survive the insidious disease. Not only did the cancer not kill him, but he's proving it made him stronger. Now, each time he races, Armstrong says he's working to give hope to anyone fighting cancer.

With all the sports we already revere, isn't there room for one more hero in our pantheon?